Sealing and hanging assembly



p 28, 1954 H. ALLEN 2,690,344

SEALING AND HANGING ASSEMBLY Filed May 8, 1950 HERBERT ALLE N INVENTOR.

Patented Sept. 28, 1954 SEALING AND HANGING ASSEMBLY Herbert Allen,Houston, Tex., assignor to Cameron Iron Works, Inc., Houston, Tex., a,corporation of Texas Application May 8, 1950, Serial No. 160,780

11 Claims. 1

This invention relates to pipe hanging and sealing assemblies, and hasfor its general object the provision of a pipe hanging and sealingassembly suitable for hanging a tubing or casing in a well bore from atubing head or casing head, and at the same time providing a sealbetween the tubing or casing as the case may be, and the tubing head orcasing head within which it is hung.

A more specific object of this invention is to provided a pipe hangerand seal assembly which may be run through a blowout preventer or othercontrol equipment and landed and locked down in place.

Another object is to provide such an assembly in which the lock-down maybe accomplished without any special type of tubing head or casing headdesign and without removal of the blowout preventer or other controlequipment.

Another object is to provide such an assembly in which the lock-down maybe accomplished without any special pipe section or portion incorporatedin the pipe to be hung.

Another object is to provide such an assembly in which the lock-downwill be automatically accomplished in the hanging and sealing operation.

Another object is to provide such an assembly with a means for securingit in a desired position on a pipe to be hung.

Another object is to provide such an assembly with a means whereby itcan be readily removed, if desired, after having been set.

Another object is to provide such an assembly which does not requirerotation of the pipe being hung.

Another object is to provide such an assembly with which it will bepossible after setting to rotate the pipe and move it vertically withoutdisturbing the setting of the assembly.

Another object of this invention is to provide such an assembly whichmay be locked down automatically by the lowering of the pipe to be hung,or which may be locked down manually without any necessity for loweringthe pipe to be hung.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein is set forth one embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings the single figure illustrates a pipe hanger and sealassembly constructed in accordance with this invention, and located inplace about a pipe being hung and within a casing head or tubing head,the assembly and the casing head or tubing head and parts associatedtherewith being shown in longitudinal cross section, and the pipe beinghung being illustrated in elevation.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, the numeral l indicates aconventional tubing head or casing head having a tapered interior zone 2and a cylindrical zone 3 above and forming a continuation of the taperedzone 2. At the upper end of this head member is an outwardly extendingflange 4 which is adapted to receive the lower end of a suitable fitting5 which may be attached to or actually form a part of a valve, blowoutpreventer, or other control equipment. On the lower end of this fitting5 is a laterally extending flange 6, preferably matching the flange 4and sealed to the flange 4 by means of a conventional type metallicsealing ring 1. These two flanges are secured together in any suitablemanner such as by the conventional bolts 8 or the like.

Illustrated in suspended position within the head member I is a pipe 9which may be either the tubing or the casing of a well. This pipe 9 issurrounded by the hanging and seal assembly to which this inventionrelates and this assembly includes the support ring In which is arelatively rigid ring having a tapered outer surface adapted to seatupon the tapered inner surface 2 of the head member I. This support ringIt has formed integral with and below it a cage portion H to which ismoulded a packing ring l2, which is of the type frequently referred toas a lip-type packing ring, and which, when employed in wells about apipe in the manner illustrated in the drawing, is frequently referred toas a stripper rubber. It is adapted to form a seal both against the pipewhich it surrounds and against the interior of the annular member I bybeing pushed against those parts by the pressure being sealed against.

Extending upwardly from the upper surface of the ring IE! and if desiredintegral with such ring are flexible upstanding connections I3 carryingupwardly tapering Slip segments hi on their upper ends. These slipsegments have outwardly directed teeth I5 on their outer surfaces, theseteeth being also directed upwardly so that when these slip segments areexpanded outwardly against the cylindrical inner surface 3 of theannular member I, they will grip such surface and prevent upwardmovement of the assembly. It will be appreciated that the flexibleupstanding connections I3 permit a considerable movement of the slips ina radial direction so that while the slips in their non-grippingposition may occupy positions well back from the inner surfaces of theequipment 5 and the cylindrical wall 3, they may nevertheless be readilymoved radially outwardly into gripping contact with the surface 3.Furthermore, this gripping contact, due to the flexible nature of thecorn nections !3 may be evenly distributed over all of the teeth of thevarious slips.

For the purpose of expanding the slip segments I4 outwardly intogripping engagement with the interior of the head member I, there isprovided an expander in the form of a ring I6 which tapers downwardlyand fits within the upper portions of the slip segments so that whenmoved downwardly it will force these slip segments outwardly intogripping position.

Extending downwardly from the upper surface of this ring I6 at intervalsabout its circumference are holes counterbored from their upper ends asshown at IT, so as to receive the heads of the bolts or screws [8. Thesescrews I8 extend downwardly through the counterbored holes I1, andproject below the ring I6 into threaded engagement with threadedopenings provided in the support ring III as shown at I9. It will beappreciated that these bolts or screws I8 will serve to hold theexpander I6 in engagement between the slip segments I4 so as toconstitute a part of the assembly. These bolts or screws I8 will,however, be left loose when the assembly is placed about the pipe sothat the assembly will not have the slips I4 expanded outwardly and willbe free to be moved into position as illustrated within the head memberI.

Alternating with the holes I! are additional tapped openings in theexpander ring I6, these holes being adapted to receive the studs orbolts 2 I, the upper ends of which project through holes 22 in a ring orflange 23. Nuts 24 may be employed on the upper ends of the studs 2|,and the studs 2| are of such a length as to span the length of a collar25 on the pipe 9. Thus, it will be seen that the studs 2| when inposition as illustrated, will, in cooperation with the flange 23, serveto hold the assembly against sliding down along the pipe 9 away from thecollar 25, but will instead hold it in contact with the lower end 26 ofsuch collar.

In operation it will be seen that the assembly may be placed upon a pipesuch as the pipe 9 at a point above suitable control equipment such asblowout preventers or the like, diagrammatically indicated by thenumeral 5, and may then be lowered with the pipe 9 into the positionillustrated in the casing head or tubing head. When the assembly entersthe tubing head and seats as illustrated, further lowering of the pipe 9will cause the shoulder which is provided by the lower end of thecoupling 25 to bear at 26 upon the expander ring I6 and move thisexpander ring downwardly within the slip segments I4, so as to forcethese segments outwardly into gripping engagement with the cylindricalsurface 3 within the head. Preferably the angle or taper on the innersurfaces of the slip segments and the outer surface of the expander ringI6 will be so small as to constitute a sticking angle so that when theexpander is pushed home by the shoulder 26 it will stick in position andthe assembly will remain locked within the head member I even after theweight of the pipe 9 is removed therefrom. This arrangement will permitthe pipe 9 4 to be freed from the assembly, if desired, after theremoval of the equipment 5 and ring 23, after which the pipe 9 may bemoved upwardly with respect to the assembly without displacing theassembly from the head member I.

Likewise, after removal of the equipment 5, if it be desired to makedoubly certain that the expander I6 is not accidentally dislodged fromits position holding the slips in gripping engagement with the headmember I, or if it is desired to set them with greater force, the screwsI8 may be tightened.

If, on the other hand, it be desired to remove the assembly after it hasbeen set, this may be done even without removing the equipment 5, bymerely pulling upwardly upon the pipe 9. This upward pull will actthrough the flange 23 and the studs 2! to pull the expander ring 20upwardly out of expanding engagement with the slip segments I l.Thereupon, the assembly being released from the head member I, it maymove upwardly with the pipe.

It will be seen from the foregoing that all of the objects andadvantages of this invention may be attained by the structure which hasbeen described. However, it will be understood that the structuredescribed and illustrated is by way of example only, and not by way oflimitation, and that this invention is limited in scope only by theterms of the appended claims.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

l. A pipe hanger and seal assembly comprising an annular packing adaptedto provide a seal about a pipe against pressure from below, a separatesupport ring connected to said packing and having a portion disposed toseat against a supporting portion of a tubing head or casing head andlimit downward movement of said packing, hold-down gripping means aboveand having a force transmitting connection with said support ring, saidhold-down gripping means being expansible outwardly into hold-downgripping engagement with the inter'ior surface of a tubing head orcasing head to lock said support ring against upward movement, and anexpander operatively associated with said expansible holddown means andengageable by part of a pipe extending through the assembly and movabledownwardly by such pipe to expand said holddown gripping means, saidexpander when moved downwardly to expand the hold-down gripping meansproviding a hanger for said pipe.

2. A pipe hanger and seal assembly comprising an annular packing adaptedto provide a seal about a pipe against pressure from below, a supportring joined to said packing and having a surface substantiallycoextensive with the upper surface of said packing to support thepacking against bodily movement by the pressure from below, said supportring having a portion disposed to seat against a supporting portion of atubing head or casing head to limit downward movement of said packing,hold-down gripping means above and having a force transmittingconnection with said support ring, said holddown gripping means beingexpansible outwardly into hold-down gripping engagement with theinterior surface of a tubing head or casing head to lock said supportring against upward movement, and an expander operatively associatedwith said expansible hold-down means and engageable by a part of a pipeextending through the assembly and movable downwardly by such pipe toexpand said hold-down gripping means,

said expander when moved downwardly to expand the hold-down grippingmeans providing a hanger for said pipe.

3. A pipe hanger and seal assembly comprising an annular packing adaptedto provide a seal about a pipe against pressure from below, a supportring connected to said packing adapted to seat in a tubing head orcasing head and limit downward movement of said packing, expansiblehold-down gripping means above said support ring adapted to be expandedoutwardly into hold-down gripping engagement with the interior surfaceof a tubing head or casing head to lock said support ring against upwardmovement, an expander operatively associated with said expansiblehold-down means and having a part adapted to be engaged by a part of apipe extending through the assembly and be moved downwardly by such pipeto expand said holddown gripping means, and tightening and holding meansengaging said expander for holding said expander in expanding positionand movable to tighten the engagement of said expander against saidgripping means.

4. A pipe hanger and seal assembly comprising an annular packing adaptedto provide a seal about a pipe against pressure from below, a supportring connected to said packing adapted to seat in a tubing head orcasing head and limit downward movement of said packing, expansiblehold-down gripping means above said support ring adapted to be expandedoutwardly into h0ld-down gripping engagement with the interior surfaceof a tubing head or casing head to lock said support ring against upwardmovement, an expander operatively associated with said expansiblehold-down means and having a part adapted to be engaged by a part of apipe extending through the assembly and be moved downwardly by such pipeto expand said holddown gripping means, and tightening and holding meansengaging said expander for holding said expander in expanding positionand movable to tighten the engagement of said expander against saidgripping means, said tightening and holding means comprising a tiebetween said support ring and said expander to hold said parts inassembled relation to each other.

5. A pipe hanger and seal assembly comprising an annular packing adaptedto provide a, seal about a pipe against pressure from below, a supportring connected to said packing adapted to seat in a tubing head orcasing head and limit downward movement of said packing, expansiblehold-down gripping means above said support ring adapted to be expandedoutwardly into hold-down gripping engagement with the interior surfaceof a tubing head or casing head to lock said support ring against upwardmovement, an expander operatively associated with said expansiblehold-down means and adapted to be engaged by a part of a pipe extendingthrough the assembly and be moved downwardly by such pipe to expand saidhold-down gripping means, and an anchor engageable with said pipe andcooperating with said expander for anchoring said assembly in place on apipe to prevent endwise movement of the assembly with respect to thepipe.

6. A pipe hanger and seal assembly comprising an annular packing adaptedto provide a seal about a pipe against pressure from below, a supportring connected to said packing adapted to seat in a tubing head orcasing head and limit downward movement of said packing, expansiblehold-down gripping means above said support ring adapted to be expandedoutwardly into hold-down gripping engagement with the interior surfaceof a tubing head or casing head to lock said support ring against upwardmovement, an expander operatively associated with said expansibleholddown means and adapted to be engaged by a part of a pipe extendingthrough the assembly and be moved downwardly by such pipe to expand saidhold-down gripping means, and an anchor engageable with said pipe andcooperating with said expander for anchoring said assembly in place on apipe to prevent endwise movement of the assembly with respect to thepipe, said anchor being above the remainder of said assembly and beingsecured to said expander to hold the expander in its uppermost inactiveposition with respect to said gripping means at such times as theassembly may be suspended by said anchor.

'7. A pipe hanger and seal assembly comprising an annular packingadapted to provide a seal about a pipe against pressure from below, asupport ring connected to said packing adapted to seat in a tubing heador casing head and limit downward movement of said packing, expansiblehold-down gripping means above said support ring adapted to be expandedoutwardly to holddown gripping engagement with the interior surface of atubing head or casing head to lock said support ring against upwardmovement, an expander operatively associated with said expansiblehold-down means and adapted to be engaged by a part of a pipe extendingthrough the assembly and be moved downwardly by such pipe to expand saidhold-down gripping means, and an anchor cooperating with said expanderfor anchoring said assembly in place on a pipe to prevent endwisemovement of the assembly with respect to the pipe, said anchor beingremovable and replaceable while said assembly is in hanging and sealingposition about a pipe and within a tubing head or casing head.

8. A pipe hanger and seal assembly comprising an annular packing adaptedto provide a seal about a pipe against pressure from below, a supportring connected to said packing and having a portion disposed to seatagainst a supporting portion of a tubing head or casing head-and limitdownward movement of said packing, a plurality of upwardly taperingslips with outwardly and upwardly directed gripping teeth on their outersurfaces, said slips being above and having a force transmittingconnection with the support ring, said slips being expansible outwardlyinto hold-down gripping engagement with the interior surface of a tubinghead or casing head to lock said support ring against upward movement,and an expander operatively associated with said upwardly tapering slipsand engageable by a part of a pipe extending through the assembly andmovable downwardly by such pipe to expand said slips, said expander whenmoved downwardly to expand the hold-down gripping means providing ahanger for said pipe.

9. A pipe hanger and seal assembly comprising an annular packing adaptedto provide a seal about a pipe against pressure from below, a supportring connected to said packing and having a portion disposed to seatagainst a supporting portion 01 a tubing head or casing head and limitdownward movement of said packing, a plurality of upwardly taperingslips with outwardly and upwardly directed gripping teeth on their outersurfaces, said slips being above and having a resilient connection withsaid support ring, said slips being expansible. outwardly into hold-downgripping engagement with the in-. terior surface of a tubing head orcasing head to lock said support ring against upward moyee. ment, anexpander operatively associated with said expansible hold-down slips andenginea leby a part of a pipe extending through the assem-. bly andmovable downwardly by such pi e to expand said slips, said expandercomprising a downwardly tapering wedge ring providing a hanger for thepipe and fitting Within said slips to expand the same.

10. A pipe hanger and seal assembly comprise ing an annular packingadapted to provide a seal about a pipe against pressure from below, asupport ring connected to said packing adapted to seat in a tubing heador casing head and limit downward movement of said packing, expansiblehold-down gripping means above said support ring adapted to be expandedoutwardly into hold-down gripping engagement with the in.-. teriorsurface of a tubing head or casing head to lock said support ringagainst upward move--. ment, an expander operatively associatedv withsaid expansible hold-down means and having a part adapted to be engagedby a part or apipe extending through the assembly and be moveddownwardly by such pipe to expand said holddown gripping means, andholding meansengaging the expander for holding said expander in anexpanding position and movable to tighten the engagement of saidexpander against said gripping means, said tightening and holding meanscomprising screw means adjustably interconnecting said support ring andexpander and exposed above said expander for tightening from above saidexpander.

11. A pipe hanger and seal assembly comprise ing an annular packingadapted to provide a 8 seal about. a pipe a ainst. pressu e rom b ow. a,support ringconnected to said packing adapted to seat in a, tubing heador casing head and limit downward movement or said packing, expansiblehold-down gripping means above said support prevent endwise movement ofthe assembly with respect to the pipe, said anchor comprising a flangeof a size to embrace the pipe to be hung and engage the upper end ofsaid pipe coupling, and tie means connecting said flange to saidexpander and of alengthgreater than such coupling.

References Cited inthe file of this patent NITED S A E PATENTS NumberName Date 1,529,697 Owen Mar. 10, 1925 l,81l,().13 Humason June 23, 19311,888,550 Ghurch Nov. 22, 1932 1,899,922 Black Mar. 7, 1933 ,997, 31Penick ct a1. Apr. 9, 1935 2,178,699. Penick et a1. Nov. '7, 19392,189,515, Brown Feb. 6, 1940 2,354,929 Rector et al Aug. 1, 19442,380,388 Allen July 31, 1945 2,582,518 Works Jan. 15, 1952

